Utah AG transferred LLCs before signing conflict of interest forms

Utah AG transferred LLCs before signing conflict of interest forms

File Photo: John Swallow

SALT LAKE CITY – Fox 13 has learned that John Swallow transferred control of three companies to his wife Suzanne on the same day he filed his final conflict of interest form for his campaign for Utah Attorney General.

Swallow did not disclose involvement with the three Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs) in the conflict of interest form.

One of the LLCs, P-Solutions, has become widely known as the entity that received $23,500 earned by Swallow as he moonlighted from his primary job as Utah’s Chief Deputy Attorney General. That money became a part of the larger controversy surrounding Swallow and Jeremy Johnson, a St. George businessman who has been indicted for mail fraud.

Johnson has accused Swallow of encouraging him to pay money through Richard Rawle intended for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The alleged goal was to use Reid’s influence to stop a federal investigation into Johnson’s company, I-Works.

On March 15, the filing deadline for state conflict of interest forms, Swallow transferred control of P-Solutions to his wife. On that same day, he also transferred two other companies to his wife: SSV Management LLC, and I-Aware LLC.

Swallow did not list the LLCs on his conflict of interest forms filed on the same day.

“There’s a very clear area on a conflict of interest form where you’re asked who’s your spouse and what corporations are they involved in,” said Maryann Martindale, executive director of Alliance for a Better Utah.

Swallow’s spokesperson Paul Murphy says his boss did not include the LLCs because they had no value worth disclosing. He says P-Solutions never took in more than the $23,500 dollars that came from Rawle. He says SSV was an empty holding company and I-Aware lost money in the business of developing cell phone apps.

Kirk Jowers of the Hinckley Institute of Politics says Swallow may not be hiding anything, but he is in a situation where public perception matters, and Swallow has put himself in too many awkward situations.

“This is a very valid question: Why was the timing what it was? Why is there so little transparency on these LLCs?”